F.W.S. Craig
Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 - 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of reference books Early Life He was active in the Scottish Unionist Party Association, and in the 1950s was invited to contribute an 'Election Manual' of election results to the Yearbook for Scotland, which the party published. Craig was unhappy with existing sources for election statistics and undertook research himself to correct the vote figures and discover the source of independent candidates, and his election manual became highly respected. Political Activity In 1964, Craig acted as election Agent for the Unionist candidate in Rutherglen. He twice fought for election to Glasgow Town Council in the mid-1960s, the first as an unofficial candidate against the 'Progressive Party' - a local alliance between Conservatives and Liberals which controlled the council. His research into elections continued and widened from Scotland to the whole of the United Kingdom, and he compiled a card index to all elections from 1918. Expanding Company In 1970 he moved to Chichester in West Sussex and established another company, Parliamentary Research Services, which eventually took over all his activities. His public relations background led to new lines of business including compilation of activities of Members of Parliament from votes in the House of Commons. He was also elected to Chichester District Council, though found it difficult to find the time. He was part of the BBC team, albeit behind the camera, on their program covering the 1970 general election; in 1974 he switched to ITV. However Craig could be a difficult man to work with. If there was a discrepancy in some of his calculations he would stay up all night until he had found it. In his later years he experienced ill health, and with all Parliamentary election results since 1832 already researched, his books were merely being revised. Reference Works In 1968, in order to publish his own works, Craig founded Political Reference Publications. The first book to be published was British Parliamentary Election Statistics 1918-1966 which, in addition to other information, summarized the results of every general election within that time. Critical reception was very positive and Craig always considered it his favorite book. It later retitled as British Electoral Facts and continues to be updated to this day.. Craig pioneered the use of technology and put the source data onto computer readable tape; the distinctive clear layout of his books was a result of his use of early computer typesetting. Personal Life F.W.S Craig was born in Glascow Scotland on December 10th, 1929, where he worked in public relations. Craig's Family always assisted in his work. His wife Phyllis produced and administrated and his daughters proofread. Craig ended his own life in March of 1989. After his death, his papers were given to Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of the University of Plymouth. Bibliography *Craig, F. W. S. (1980). Britain votes. Chichester. ISBN 0-900178-18-3. *Craig, F. W. S. (1989). British electoral facts, 1832-1987. Dartmouth. ISBN 0-900178-30-2. *Craig, F. W. S. (1976). British electoral facts 1885-1975. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-19734-8. *Craig, F. W. S. (1989). British parliamentary election results 1832-1885. Aldershot. ISBN 0-900178-26-4. *Craig, F. W. S. (1983) 1969. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X. *Craig, F. W. S. (1973). The Parliaments of England 1844 to 1850 (2nd edition ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-13-2. *Craig, F. W. S. (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4. *Craig, F. W. S. (1968). British parliamentary election statistics 1918-1968. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-00-0. External Links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FWS_Craig